


When Skies are Gray

by spider_nerd_writes



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt Adrien, Hurt/Comfort, Injured Adrien, Injury, but a little fluff, but a little marichat too, he has it rough in this one, ill probably change the title at some point, im not a complete monster, it won't be very bad though, mostly adrienette, my poor boy adrien, nothing graphic, oof, there will be angst and lots of it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-01-12 18:17:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18452003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spider_nerd_writes/pseuds/spider_nerd_writes
Summary: Chat is hopelessly in love with Ladybug, but when he finally needs to move on, another black-haired girl catches his eye. Marinette is smart, funny, kind, all the things he loved about Ladybug, and more. He might just find himself falling for the unassuming girl that sits behind him in class.Marinette loves Chat, she does, just not in the way he wants her to. Her heart belongs to Paris’ golden boy, Adrien Agreste, even if she can’t get out more than two words around him. But when she finally starts to become friends with Adrien (maybe even something more), she’ll find that there’s more to him than his polished outer exterior.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Will be updating weekly
> 
> I would love to hear your CONSTRUCTIVE criticism! (if you want a great format for that, this post is perfect: https://she-who-fights-and-writes.tumblr.com/post/181854317846/how-to-write-constructive-criticism)

The night was clear and bright with the glow of the moon as Marinette swung through the city of Paris; rooftop lights glimmered against the black backdrop of sky, standing out like stars. She landed lightly at her and Chat’s agreed meeting place, looking up at the Eiffel tower, a beacon of light that shone over Paris.  
“Hello, My Lady.”  
She turned at the sound of his voice. “Chat! What was so urgent that you needed to meet me?”  
At this, Chat raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck, ears lowering. “Well, there’s nothing serious going on, but there is something I wanted to show you.”  
Marinette’s eyebrows arched, but she allowed Chat to grab her hand, pulling her around a faded brick wall. “Chat, you can’t just call me anytime for no reason.”  
He turned, walking backwards to face her, their hands still clasped between them. “Wanting to be with you is reason enough, I think,” he said, giving her a toothy smile.  
Marinette’s lips twitched up into the beginnings of a smile, but she masked it with a roll of her eyes. “That is definitely not good enough. I have school tomorrow, and-”   
Her voice caught in her throat as she rounded corner. Vines climbed the walls, bright green against the deep purple and blue of the flowers that sprouted from them. Candles that smelled of lavender and roses dotted the ground and roof edge, casting a warm glow and illuminating potted yellow Chrysanthemums. Beyond the rooftop, the City of Light spread out before her, the Seine in the distance streaked with the light from lampposts.   
Off to the side stood Chat, nervously fidgeting with his tail as he watched her take in the sight. “I just- I thought I could do something nice for you, especially since yesterday’s akuma attack was so rough.” He looked to her, waiting for a response. When she remained silent, too stunned to speak, he looked away, green eyes gazing out into the night.  
“And there was also, I mean, I also wanted to…to tell you something,” he said, eyes hesitantly returning to her face.  
“I…I love you.”  
Marinette’s heart stopped as her stomach flipped. She felt nauseous as he looked at her, vulnerable and full of hope. She had never thought that Chat actually had feelings for her. His constant flirting was just a part of his nature, something he did out of habit rather than sincerity.   
“Chat,” she said helplessly, “I’m so sorry, but I just don’t feel the same.”  
She watched as his heart broke, splintering into millions of jagged pieces. He swallowed thickly, eyes darting away from Marinette. She wanted to reach out for him, comfort him in any way she could, but he asked of her the one thing she couldn’t give.  
“Why?” The word pierced the tension between them, cutting into it roughly. Chat looked surprised, as if he hadn’t meant to say anything at all, and rushed to correct himself.  
“I didn’t mean that. It’s fine, you don’t have to explain-”  
“I’m in love with someone else.”   
Marinette watched as the words forced another wave of hurt over Chat, her own heart aching along with him. Chat was her best friend, her partner. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him, but he deserved an explanation.   
She took a step towards him, but he backed away, and she halted, feeling hot tears fill her eyes. “I’m sorry Chat, I don’t want to hurt you. You’re my best friend, and I…I care about you,” she said, trying to offer him some kind of solace, but he shrunk away from her, almost as if she might burn him.  
“I know,” he said, voice quiet and trembling as he turned away from her, pulling out his staff. “I-I just need a little time.”  
“Of course,” she said, wincing internally at how desperate she sounded. He paused at the edge of the roof, partially turning back to look at her.  
“And Ladybug?”  
“Yes?”  
“You’re my best friend, too.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Adrien! He deserves at least a little fluff.

As usual, Marinette was running late. She had spent her entire lunch break baking macarons, making sure the batter was a pleasing, consistent pale green as the clock steadily inched closer to two. Once the timer finally went off, she flung open the oven door, reaching in with her oven mitts to take out the baking mat that held the perfectly cooked sweets. She quickly transferred the macarons to a pink, polka-dotted box, nearly burning her fingers in the process. Once they were all neatly arranged, she grabbed the box, running out the door with a quick Love you too, Mom! on her way back to school.  
She hadn’t initially planned on making the macarons, but this morning at school she had noticed a slump to Adrien’s shoulders and the way his eyelids drooped over red-rimmed eyes. His dull mood had tugged at Marinette’s conscience, and she had spent the majority of Mrs. Bustier’s lecture trying to figure out the best way to cheer Adrien up. The macarons weren’t much, but she still hoped they would be enough to lift his mood.   
When she made it to her classroom, it was buzzing with low conversation as her classmates preoccupied themselves before the bell. Nino was trying to talk to Adrien, but mostly received one-word answers in response. Marinette hesitated nervously at the door. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to go up to Adrien unprompted. What if he was allergic? Or even worse, what if he hated them? It would be just Marinette’s luck to make the one dessert he hated.   
She was shaken out of her spiraling thoughts when Alya caught her eye. She cocked an eyebrow, looking back and forth between where Marinette was half hiding behind the doorway and Adrien. Her face suddenly split into a brilliant grin, and she signaled madly at Marinette to go up to Adrien. Marinette gave Alya a defeated look, shaking her head miserably. Alya’s grin fell into a frown, and she stood up, pushing her chair back with a loud rattle of wood against wood.  
“Adrien, I think Marinette has something for you,” she said, gesturing towards where Marinette was still standing.  
Adrien tilted his head in curiosity, tired green eyes landing on Marinette and the pink box she clutched to her chest. She let out a squeak that might have been “um” and considered pretending like Alya hadn’t said anything, but his gaze drew her to him, and soon enough she was tripping over the steps that lead up to his desk, nearly dropping the macarons in the process. She held out the box to him, nearly vibrating with nervousness.  
“These…are for me?” he asked, eyebrows drawn together.  
Marinette managed a nod, eyes staring determinedly at her feet.  
“Why?”  
She looked up in surprise, blue briefly meeting green before she looked away again. “You just…I just noticed you looked--looked a little down today,” she stuttered, voice still sounding ten octaves too high. She held out the box to him, refusing to meet his eyes.  
Adrien took the box, face splitting into a bright grin as he opened it. “Thank you, macarons are my favorite. And I, well, I kind of needed this today,” he said, eyes softening as he smiled at her.  
Marinette forced out a high-pitched “your welcome” before scrambling back to sit by Alya. He had actually liked her gift! And he had smiled at her so warmly; she felt like it would melt her.  
Alya gave her a whispered “you go girl!” and a fist bump as Marinette tried to contain herself enough to act like she was paying attention as Mrs. Bustier resumed class.  
She spent the rest of the lesson daydreaming in summer greens and of dazzling smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who left a kudos!
> 
> I know the chapters have been really short, but I promise they'll get longer with the next upload


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing the scenery for this chapter! Paris is well known for how beautiful it is, so it was fun to try and capture some of that beauty.

After school, Marinette continued to gush to Alya about her gift to Adrien.  
“I can’t believe it! I finally talked to him!” she said, nearly shouting at Alya.  
Alya chuckled. “Kind of,” she said, grinning.  
Marinette scowled at her. “At least it’s a step forward.”  
“Yeah, baby steps, right?” Alya laughed. “Aside from Adrien, don’t you have something else to be worrying about?”  
“Mr. Babin’s tailcoat!” Marinette shouted. “We better hurry home. His recital is at six, so he’ll be picking it up soon.”  
Alya shook her head, but followed after Marinette as she dashed for home. By the time they arrived, heaving for breath, Mr. Babin was waiting at the door, dressed formally in a black top hat and silver-handled cane.  
“Ah, hello, Marinette! There you are,” he said, sweeping his hat off in a bow.  
“Hi, Mr. Babin. I’ve finished your coat, let me just go get it from my room,” Marinette said, disappearing behind her front door. She returned seconds later with a long, black tailcoat.  
“Here you are,” she said, handing it to him.  
He examined it closely, running his fingers over the repaired shoulder seam. “Thank you,” he said, looking up. “You have mended it perfectly.”  
Marinette blushed. “It was nothing.”  
“And now, I am off to my concert,” Mr. Babin said, slipping his coat on. He turned to face both of the girls and handed them tickets. “You are both invited, of course.”  
“Really?” both girls asked in unison.  
Mr. Babin gave them a kindly smile and nod. “Think of it as my way of repaying you, Marinette. I’ll see you at six,” he called, already walking in the direction of the Salle Pleyel.  
Marinette and Alya waved before grabbing a couple of croissants from the bakery and heading in the direction of the concert hall themselves.  
“I can’t wait to hear Mr. Babin play the piano. I usually prefer rock, but I heard he’s a master.”  
Alya hummed in agreement, swallowing a bite of her croissant. “He is definitely one of the best. I’ll have to write about the performance on my blog.”  
“Oh? I thought your blog was exclusively Ladybug.”  
Alya shrugged. “Ladybug isn’t the only person I want to write about.”  
Marinette feigned a gasp. “Ladybug’s number one fan has betrayed her! You’ve moved on, leaving Ladybug in the dust. She’s old news,” Marinette teased.  
Alya rolled her eyes, giving Marinette a playful shove.  
Their banter soon fell off into idle conversation about school as they made their way to the Salle Pleyel, people and cars rushing by in swirls of color and snippets of conversation. The shadows cast by trees and shrubs lengthened into dark fingers that crawled across the sidewalk as the sun descended, cooling the air around them. By the time they reached the concert hall, the red and orange were bleeding into the sky, tinting everything in a soft, golden glow.  
The lobby of the Salle Pleyel was brightly lit; white columns rose from a geometric floor with black and white triangular tiles that were set into rings. A vibrantly red carpet led to the concert hall itself, rows of plush velvet seats arranged around a spacious stage. Marinette and Alya found themselves dazzled by the enormity of the auditorium; it seemed to rise up infinitely above them, the ceiling lost to darkness in the dim lighting.  
It was still a while before the concert started, so they were able to find relatively good seats. However, it didn’t take long for Marinette to spot a familiar blond-haired classmate making his way towards them.  
“Marinette!” Adrien greeted, lips lifting into a smile as he neared her. “I didn’t realize you would be here too.”  
Marinette’s mind blanked. Adrien was here? How did she look? Did she still have croissant crumbs on her shirt?  
“I-umm-we-uh,” she stuttered.  
“What Marinette means,” Alya interrupted, slinging an arm around Marinette’s shoulders, “is that we came here on Mr. Babin’s invitation. Marinette repaired his coat, so he gave us tickets.”  
“Wow, that’s so cool of you, Marinette!”  
Marinette felt like she might explode or faint right on the spot. Hearing Adrien compliment her twice in one day might be more than she could handle.  
She tried to respond with a “thank you,” but her words betrayed her yet again.  
Alya sighed. “You know, Adrien,” she added, giving Marinette a significant look. “We would love it if you joined us for the concert.”  
Adrien scratched the back of his neck, expression apologetic. “I would love to, but-”  
“Adrikins!” Chloe’s shriek interrupted him, cutting through the low hum of conversation that surrounded the trio. She grabbed Adrien’s arm, hanging off him like some sort of cheap purse as she sneered at Marinette and Alya.  
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe scoffed. “What are you doing here? My daddy would never allow such peasants to come to the same concert as me.”  
Marinette opened her mouth to give Chloe a barbed retort, but Adrien responded first.  
“Mr. Babin invited them, Chloe. Marinette repaired his coat for the concert,” he told her as he extricated himself from her grip.  
“Hmph. I could have done a much better job,” Chloe said, crossing her arms and cocking a hip.  
“Maybe if you knew which end of the needle to thread,” Marinette taunted.  
Chloe gasped indignantly. “We’ll see just how well your stitching holds up, Marinette,” Chloe warned before storming away hotly.  
Adrien’s eyes darted to Alya and Marinette before they fell away apologetically. “Sorry about that,” he said, reaching a hand once again to scratch behind his head.  
Alya looked to Marinette, but she was still glaring after Chloe. “You know, you could make it up to us by sitting with us for the concert,” she offered, distracting Marinette from her glowering.  
Adrien smiled sadly. “As I said, I would love to, but I can’t just leave Chloe all by herself. Besides, who knows what kind of trouble she would get into on her own. I’ll see you later, though.”  
Adrien gave the girls a small wave before disappearing into the growing crowd.  
“Well, I tried, girl,” Alya said, but Marinette just shrugged in response.  
“It’s fine. I came to this concert to hang out with you, anyway.”  
“Awwww, you big sap,” Alya beamed, taking her seat.  
Just as Marinette sat down next to her friend, the lights dimmed. Mr. Babin was introduced, crossing the stage and sitting down at an ebony grand piano. The bright stage lights glittered across it’s surface and gleamed off the keys as he began to play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Message me on tumblr: spider-nerd-writes


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow writing fight scenes sucks. I'm not super happy with this, so I might end up rewriting it later? I don't know, I'm totally open to opinions.

Mr. Babin’s music was absolutely beautiful. The notes sprung from the piano, dancing through the air and filling the audience with a sense of excitement and life. He struck his last note and it hung in he air, resounding all throughout the stadium. Marinette and Alya stood with the rest of the audience to give him a standing ovation.   
However, just as he stooped to take a bow, the stitching Marinette had repaired around the shoulder of the jacket came loose. Mr. Babin’s sleeve slipped free of the entire coat, leaving the bright white of his undershirt shockingly exposed against the black of his tailcoat. The audience was stunned into silence until a familiar, pretentious laugh rang out.   
“Chloe,” Marinette growled as the rest of the audience joined in.   
Mr. Babin’s face dropped into a horrified expression, his hand reaching to clutch at his exposed shoulder. He turned and hurried off the stage, shoulders hunched as if to ward off the mocking laughter.  
“Poor Mr. Babin,” Alya said, eyes still pinned to the performance stage.  
“This is all Chloe’s fault,” Marinette fumed. “I know I stitched that shoulder tightly into place. I even checked my work a dozen times because I knew how important this concert was to him.”  
“That girl is such a snake,” Alya agreed.  
They moved to exit with the rest of the audience, but before they even made it out of the auditorium, the backstage doors flew open. A man wearing a half-black and half-white dress suit stepped though, the tails of the suit elongated to sharp points behind him. Black and white threads hung all around him, some hanging loosely from his arms and others standing up like puppet strings.  
“I am the String Maestro!” the akuma shouted, voice roaring above the panic of the audience members. “And you will all pay for having laughed at me!”  
“Whoa! I have to get this for the Ladyblog! This is crazy, right Marinette?” Alya looked to where her friend had been standing a few seconds before, only to find that her friend had disappeared. “Marinette?” Alya called again, but received no response.  
Oblivious to her friend’s confusion, Marinette had already transformed and was running after the akuma. People around him shrieked as they were wrapped up in black and white strings, mummifying them.  
“Since you laughed at me, I will make sure you never laugh again!” he said, tying layers of string over people’s mouths, preventing them from speaking at all.   
“String Maestro! Stop!” Marinette shouted, wrapping her yo-yo around his arm to keep him from directing the threads. She fought to hold him in place, but her concentration was interrupted by a familiar voice.  
“There you are Ma’ -uh- Ladybug!” Chat’s said, landing next to her. “Did you miss m-I mean-“  
“Chat!” Marinette smiled, relief seeping into her voice. She had been afraid he wouldn’t come.  
At her smile, however, Chat took a step back, looking as if he were in pain. Distracted by her confusion at his reaction, her grip on her yo-yo loosened, allowing String Maestro to yank her off balance and free himself.   
“Ladybug and Chat Noir! Have you come to laugh at me too?” String Maestro cried.  
“N-no!” Marinette shouted, casting one last quizzical glance at Chat Noir.  
String Maestro ignored her. “I’ll take your miraculous and we’ll see who has the last laugh.”  
Soon Marinette and Chat were fighting to keep back a storm of black and white threads as String maestro tried to restrain them. The threads grew so numerous that Marinette could hardly see anything past the floor in front of her. She even lost track Chat; he was being strangely silent, his usual puns and flirtations absent. She missed the sound of his voice, missed teasing him over one of his awful jokes.  
She cursed as she narrowly deflected a thread that had managed to slip past her spinning yo-yo, slicing into her forearm. The cut wasn’t deep and her costume quickly repaired itself, but it burned and soaked the fabric around her arm in blood.  
Growing increasingly desperate, she used her Lucky Charm, and a red, black-spotted cat ear headband landing in her hands.  
“Chat!” Marinette shouted.  
A clawed hand cut through the threads beside her and Chat fought through the swirling strings to stand at her side. At the sight of him, Marinette’s spirits lifted. They could do this. Together.  
“We have to get his coat,” she told him, “that’s where the akuma must be.”  
She frowned at his silent agreement. “We can’t…kitten…around with this one,” she said, forcing the pun past her lips.  
His jaw dropped and she had to work overtime to keep the threads from taking hold of Chat. “Did you-did you just-”  
“We don’t have time for this,” she interrupted, hiding a self-satisfied smile. “We have to get closer to String Maestro.”  
“Whatever you say, Ladybug,” Chat said, grinning.  
They turned and fought back to back, his claws and staff tearing through any threads that came near while she cleared a path forward with her yo-yo. They gained ground, inching forward until the threads around them thinned and String Maestro appeared through the swirling mass.  
“We have to get his jacket.”  
Chat nodded, eyeing the akuma. “I should be able to easily tear through it, but how are we going to get close?”  
“Not we– you.”  
Chat’s eyes widened in surprise. “No way.”  
“What happened to ‘whatever you say?’”  
Chat shook his head. “I’m not leaving you.”  
Marinette blew out a breath in frustration. “Would you just trust me?” she asked in annoyance. “I can handle myself.”  
Chat side-eyed her for a few more seconds before relenting. With a final burst of energy, she cleared threads from around her before throwing her spinning yo-yo, making a path for Chat. He hesitated, looking back at her.  
“Go, Chat!”  
Clenching his jaw, he ran through the rapidly narrowing path. Within a couple minutes, it was gone entirely, lost amongst the raging threads. Marinette fought to keep herself free, but more and more threads wrapped around her, restricting her movements until she was completely held immobile. Hurry, Chat Noir.   
Just as the threads began to wrap around her head, they all fell limp, landing in messy heaps all around her. She looked across the auditorium to see Chat holding the torn sleeve of String Maestro’s coat, and upon meeting eyes, he rushed over to her, dropping the sleeve as a black butterfly floated out.  
She had just enough time to purify the akuma before Chat was upon her, tackling her into a fierce hug. She moved to reciprocate, but he pulled away suddenly, taking a step back and rubbing his neck sheepishly. Marinette opened her mouth, but her earrings beeped, cutting her off before she could even utter a word.   
“Better get going,” Chat said, already moving towards the exit.  
She sighed, watching his retreating form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This sucked writing, but I felt it was important to the plot. The good stuff will happen in the next chapter though! Marichat all the way.
> 
> Saw Avengers Endgame yesterday, so you can come cry with me about it @tired-spider-nerd on tumblr if you want (my Marvel blog).

**Author's Note:**

> I am so sorry
> 
> Yellow Chrysanthemums - neglected love or sorrow


End file.
